Red Ribbons
by obsidians
Summary: I've decided to turn this story into little drabbles of Rude/Tifa to be updated when I feel so inclined.
1. Red Ribbons

"Happy Birthday Tifa," Yuffie said giving her a hug and handing her a brightly wrapped present.

Tifa smiled and hugged her back, it was her birthday so most of the TURKS and AVALANCHE kept showing up to bring her presents and give her birthday greetings.

Tifa was the belle of the ball as she moved from one table to the next getting well wishes from friends and bar patrons come to drink a toast the popular young woman's twenty fifth birthday.

One pair of eyes never left her, their movements obscured by the sunglasses they always had before them. Their owner was a tall, bald man with a small goatee and tanned skin. He was a TURK and sat with his partner as Reno looked out for eligible young women, one of whom might share his bed that night. But Rude only had eyes for Tifa and a silver wrapped present on the gift table that didn't have a card attached to it.

The night was in full swing and even Tseng and Vincent seemed to be having fun but didn't look comfortable in the pointy party hats Yuffie had insisted everyone wear.

Rude never left his table and would sit there alone while Reno would leave to dance with a potential partner of the evening and would soon return after striking out with the young lady in question. But Rude watched in anticipation as a cake with sloppy decorations had been thoughtfully made by Yuffie herself, who had little talent for cooking or baking. However Tifa praised it as if it had been made by the finest baker in the land and blew out all the candles in a single breath.

Then it was time to open the gifts and he felt breathless and light headed as she thanked each person for whatever she received from that person. Her smile was a tad sad as she opened a courier package from Cloud to find he had bought her a duplicate scarf from the her birthday a year before. She set it aside before picking up the final present, a large silver box and carefully opening it. Yuffie and her eyes seemed to bulge out of their heads as they recognized the logo on the box as belonging to one of the most expensive dress shops in town.

She opened it and gasped at what it contained. "Tifa that's the dress from when we went shopping. Who could have bought this for you or even known about it?" Yuffie asked her.

Tifa could only stare at it. It was a black strapless dress with small red ribbon in the centre of the sweetheart neckline. More red ribbons make up the corset back and the short skater skirt was edged at the bottom by more red ribbons.

Flashback

Rude had the day off and had been going to buy some stamps when he spotted the woman of his dreams in a dress shop wearing a beautiful black dress with red ribbons on it. "Tifa it's so beautiful, you should so buy it" Yuffie insisted to her and Rude paused at the side of the open doorway and felt rather guilty for listening in on their private conversation.

She looked at the price tag and paled "it's beautiful but I can only afford Wal Mart with my budget" she said with regret in her voice.

"I could put it on my credit card and you can pay daddy back" Yuffie offered.

"I can't allow you to do that" Tifa said and went to change out of it after lingering a few extra seconds before the mirror.

Rude waited until she departed and then walked into a woman's dress shop for the first time in his life. He could feel his cheeks glow and avoided looking at manikins wearing dainty lingerie.

"Can I help you with something?" the saleslady asked.

"That dress; was that the one my friend was just trying on?" he asked her because she was holding a similar one.

"You mean the brunette that just left?" she asked him.

"Yes that's the one" he said.

"Yes it is" she concurred.

"I would like to surprise her by buying it for her" he said pulling out his credit card.

"That's so nice of you, every woman would love to have a friend like you" she enthused. "I can wrap it free of charge and have it delivered to her" she offered.

"I would like it wrapped but would like to take it with me" he said.

"How would you like your card to read?" she asked him.

"I don't want a card included" he said.

End Flashback

"It seems you have a secret admirer and a generous one at that" Yuffie enthused.

"But this is too expensive to accept" Tifa insisted."Perhaps if I bring this back to the store they'll refund their money?"

"The person obviously wanted you to have this, go put it on" Yuffie insisted.

"I guess" Tifa said with hesitation in her voice until she allowed herself to be persuaded and came down wearing it to the admiration of everyone present. Yet the person who had bought it for her thought she would look beautiful wearing even a burlap sack, but could feel his cheeks heat up as he admired her in his present.

Reno came back and threw himself heavily on his chair and sporting a fresh red handprint shaped mark on his alabaster cheek and looked in surprise to find the normally unflappable Rude blushing like a maiden. He followed the direction of his gaze.

"So the dress is from you?" he guessed in a hushed tone.

"Shut up" Rude snapped at him under his breath.

Reno got up and put on number 28 on the jukebox and Unchained Melody came on. "Tifa, Yuffie. Could I have this dance?" he called to them.

"Both of us at the same time? Reno you're such a horn dog" Tifa teased him.

"Actually, I remember that you banned me from hitting on you so I was wondering if Yuffie would allow me to partner her while you dance with Rude?" Reno said in an innocent sounding voice that made Rude's eyes go wide behind his sunglasses.

"Would you mind Rude? I do love this song" Tifa said turning towards him.

"Okay" was his answer and he stood up with his heart racing. He could feel a full body blush covering him as petite arms encircled his neck and he lightly put his hands at her waist.

"You can hold me closer to you, I not that fragile" Tifa said smiling up at him and he drew her as close to him as he dared and she soon had lay her head on his breast as the romantic song drew her into it and they swayed in time together and his fantasy of being able to dance with her in his present became true and had he died on the spot, he would have died a happy man.

Reno's smile as he easily looked over his own dance partner's head was almost tender to see his friend so happy though Rude's face betrayed nothing, he seemed to glow as he danced with the woman of his dreams.


	2. Sleep

Rude was at the bar having a beer when he overheard a conversation.

"Why you yawning all the time?" Barret asked Tifa.

"I can't sleep very well with all this crazy shifting weather and I have to be up early every morning to get Denzel to school on time" she explained.

"You sure it's okay if Marlene stays over then?" Barret asked her with concern in his voice.

"Of course, go on your mission. She'll be no trouble" she assured him.

"If you're sure" Barret said.

Tifa finally drifted off at four o'clock in the morning and was awaked at six by the sound of childish voices downstairs and forced her exhausted body from her bed with great regret.

She pulled on her robe and went downstairs and stopped in surprise to find both children seated at the table animatedly talking with Rude. The large man still wore his sunglasses despite that the sun hadn't yet risen and had her own "kiss the cook" pink apron on over his TURKS uniform and stood at a frying pan flipping pancakes.

"Rude what's going on?" she asked him.

"I hope you don't mind, I was out of coffee and know you are usually up this time of the morning so dropped by to see if I could bum some from you. These little guys let me in and said they were hungry so I offered to make them some of my grandmother's mouse-eared pancakes. I hope you don't mind that I stole the ingredients to make them. Dig in" he said putting a huge pancake in front of each child and they tucked into them with gusto. Tifa could only look on in surprise that the table had been set, both children had a tall glasses of orange juice in front of them and they were neatly dressed. "Why don't you go back to bed; I've got this" he suggested to her.

"I have to make their lunches and then have to clean up the kitchen" she said with hesitation in her voice, though her body was screaming at her to go back to bed.

"Mr. Rude said he's going to teach us how to make pinwheel sandwiches for our lunches if we help him with the dishes" Marlene piped up.

"I suppose that's alright, but I have to take them to school" she said.

"I'll drop them on my way to work" Rude said. "So you should go back to bed and get some shut eye, we're fine" he assured her.

"Maybe a short nap" she said in an exhausted voice.

"Get some rest" he all but ordered her with his arms crossed in front of him while he loomed over her.

"Thanks Rude" she said impulsively getting up on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his cheek and when she leaned back, she could have sworn he was blushing as she went back to bed.


	3. The Sum of Her Parts

Reno watched Rude watch Tifa through his sunglasses and wondered if that was the reason why he wore them, out of stealth or out of affectation like he did his own goggles.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" he suggested.

"I do talk to her" the tall tanned man replied.

"You order drinks from her and talk about the weather. Are you trying to bore her into sleeping with you?"

"That's not my main objective and she already has a man in her heart" Rude replied.

"Some boyfriend; he's off being all angst-y again and roaring around on his motorcycle being the big bad lone wolf and mourning a dead girl who isn't Tifa. Yet she's right in front of you, sleeping alone and missing the jerk. She's ripe for the plucking. Go get her" Reno suggested to him.

"No the time isn't right and I don't want her simply in my bed" Rude explained.

"Why not?" Reno asked him, unable to picture wanting more from a woman.

"I'm not like you. If she were to sleep with you, she would be just another notch on your bedpost. She would wake up a little embarrassed and you wouldn't even offer her breakfast and she would probably have to walk home because you have to dash to work as ever. She would never hear from you again except when she has to witness you picking up other women at her own bar" he said.

"I'm not that bad" Reno protested.

"I'm just trying to point out the difference between the two of us. When Tifa agrees to go out with me, I shall treat her like the fine lady she is. I shall romance her and win her and she will never have the slightest doubt that I'm an honourable man who intends to marry her when she's ready and shall spend my life making her happy. That I shall provide her with the children she so desires and help raise her adopted son and shall be faithful only onto her" Rude explained.

"You can be such a chick sometimes! You mean to tell me if she desired to take you to bed, you would say no?" Reno asked him incredulously.

"Naturally I don't expect her to wait until marriage, but I would let her know that eventual marriage between us is my main objective, not a cheap no-strings attached affair like you prefer" Rude said.

"And what's wrong with no-strings attached affairs?" he demanded.

"When you sleep with someone you barely know, it's all about the physical gratification and although it's pleasant, it means little in the end and you still remain strangers when you part. "When I take Tifa to bed, it shall be a celebration of our union and not just our bodies and we shall become one as we make love. I hope you understand the difference some day. If I speak only of the weather is because I know the timing isn't right to tell her how I really feel. She's still mourning Cloud but you can only miss something you can't touch for so long. Until then she needs a friend, men are always hitting on her because of how she looks. I'm in love with her mind, body and soul. Someday I will tell her when the time is right and she will accept my suit. Until then she will see me as her self appointed bouncer for her bar and the only man who never hit on her and how I always looked her in the eye when I talked about the weather. The body the goddess blessed her with is a miracle but I love her as a whole. A woman should never be just the sum of her parts. So while you are chasing a long haired brunette with a heart shaped bottom or a curvy well endowed blonde or just some other random girl. I shall be discussing the weather with my future wife and waiting to claim her as mine" Rude explained and Reno went uncharacteristically silent at this as they both studied the same woman, one with lust and the other with devotion.


	4. Husband Training

"Bring him in here, this room is vacant" Tifa said as she led Rude upstairs, who was supporting the highly drunken and semi unconscious Reno.

"You sure you want to put him up for the night…..again? I mean I could just take him home" he volunteered.

Tifa took a hold of Reno's head by his rattail and lifted his head, she looked critcally into his face and let his head drop again "he's pretty far gone, it would be easier to let him sleep it off" she said opening the guest room door and Rude put him on the bed with all the tenderness of releasing a sack full of rubbish.

"Wha?" Reno said.

"Time to get some shut eye" Rude told him.

Tifa watched as Rude stripped Reno's coat from him and took off his shoes in a very practiced way that bespoke of a long association in performing such tasks for the redhead.

Rude then went to remove his pants, not caring about him sleeping in his shirt, it was always wrinkled anyway, and then he realized Tifa was still in the room.

"Tifa, if you would leave for just a minute. It's not that he would care if you saw him in the buff, but a lady like yourself shouldn't have to see such things" Rude said.

Tifa actually felt touched that he was so thoughtful, but of course Rude had always behaved as gentleman towards her and treated her like a gently born lady.

"Certainly" Tifa said and stepped out into the hallway.

She laughed when she heard Rude say to Reno, "I hope you have underwear on because I don't want to see your turtle necked weasel flopping at me."

Finished, Rude drew the covers up over his best friend and partner. Tifa came in and hung up his clothes and turned out the lights and softly closed the door behind her, followed by Rude.

"Doesn't it feel like we're putting a kid to bed who's drunk for the first time?" Tifa said with amusement in her voice.

"This one's drunk all the time; I'm so proud" Rude said with a rare display of humour that made Tifa laugh.

"So what do you do with him the next day when he wakes up?" Rude asked out of curiosity, Reno would never disclose this information to him. He was oddly closed mouth on that topic.

"Husband training; that's what I do with everyone who has to be put up for the night due to drunken, boorish behaviour" she explained.

"Pardon?" Rude said.

"Women get bridal training. I give my drunkards the experience every husband gets when facing a honey-do list" she said. "Reno normally wakes up around the same time as me and I make us both breakfast and he has to listen to a stern lecture from me about the long term effects of heavy drinking and in his case, I lecture him about how the future Mrs. Reno will feel about this slutty chapter of his life. Then I make him do the dishes and then out comes the list of minor household repairs and he must pick five of them to do before he's allowed to leave" Tifa explained.

"I couldn't see Reno being much of a handyman" Rude said.

"People do what they know how to do, if they don't know plumbing, I don't expect them to learn how. But this is old building and there's always something to do: be it tightening the screws on the tables and chairs, pruning the hedge out front, taking out the trash, stocking the bar of even cutting up lemons and limes for the next evening. That's what all my passed out drunks are expected to do" Tifa said.

"Good to know. Good night Tifa, I'll see you this evening" Rude said and departed with a rare smile on his face.

I'm sorry; I don't know what's come over him. He usually barely even drinks" a rather sober Reno said as he helped his drunken partner up the stairs, the other man was far, far gone and a murdering song about what to do with a drunken sailor.

"It happens" Tifa said as she led the stumbling pair to the bedroom from the night before. "Let's just get the big guy to bed" she said flicking on the light.

"You're so pretty" Rude slurred and looked at her with his sunglasses half on and off of his face and she took them off of him.

"And you're quite handsome" she said back with a fond smile. "I'll wait in the hallway while you get him ready for bed" she said to Reno. "Wait will you be okay to get home?" she asked him.

"It's ten minutes stumbling distance from here, I'll be fine and don't want to have to do more chores" Reno assured her, quirking a smile at her. He had learned the hard way not to flirt with her either drunk or sober, they were more like causal friends.

She left the two of them alone and Reno stripped his partner down to his boxer shorts "I don't know why you suddenly decided to drink to excess tonight but I'm warning you buddy, Tifa's pretty but is going to be a real tyrant you in the morning. She's going to work you like a slave around here" Reno warned tucked the blankets up around chin level on other man and he wondered why he got a blissful and positively elated look on his face as he settled into drunken sleep, visions of having breakfast with Tifa and spending a boring Sunday in her presence (the one night the bar wasn't open) doing chores for her dancing in his head.


	5. Buttons

Tifa was surprised when Rude was on his PHS so much, the large man normally was the strong silent type to his partner and seemingly best friend's tendency to prattle on. He had stopped by for lunch on his own, which surprised Tifa but she brought him his favourite beverage to drink while on duty; an ice tea with two cherries and he gave her a slight nod and smile at this.

She couldn't help overhearing his conversation even though she tried not to be nosey. "He's a male cat that's five years old. All of his shots are up to date. Would you be able to take him...all booked up. Okay, thanks for your time" he said and his shoulders seemed to sag. He rang off and looked at what names remained on the list with a frown.

"I'm sorry are you looking for a cat sitter?" Tifa butted in out of curiosity, not able to picture the large man owning a pet, let alone a cat. Well perhaps some sort of dog like a Rottweiler, pit bull or something like that she could see.

"I'm being sent on mission for two weeks and I hate to leave him alone but with this being the peak vacation time, every boarding place is booked up and in house sitters aren't taking on any more clients" Rude explained.

"If it's just a matter of dropping by once a day and spending an hour or two with him, I'd be happy to" Tifa volunteered.

"You would?" Rude said removing his sunglasses in shock and looking at her like she had just offered him the holy grail.

"I can do it during the day before I open the bar" Tifa assured him, Rude was a good customer and complete gentleman who tipped generously and was never any problem and even helped her out if people acted out of line.

"I can pay you" he offered.

"I refuse to take money from you" Tifa said and noticed he really nice light brown eyes that his sunglasses normally concealed. Tifa had always thought him rather attractive in fact.

"What if I take you out to a really nice dinner for your trouble?" he said, feeling inspired.

"Now you're talking" she said. "If you're free tonight, I could come over your place and you can show me where you keep everything and give me a copy of your key" she suggested.

Rude took a second and weighted his options, spending time alone with Tifa in his place no matter how briefly versus watching Reno get drunk and hit on women in a clumsy attempt to get laid before going on their mission. "Would six o'clock suit you? I can pick you up fifteen minutes beforehand and give you a ride" he said to her, apparently Reno wouldn't have his usual wingman that night.

Tifa walked into Rude's place, she had been surprised by how nice it looked from the outside.

It was a colonial style home with dark blue siding with a grey roof, white framed windows and a white porch with a red door. It had an actual white picket fence around it with an arch over the entrance way with climbing roses on it. There were two gardens in front that made it look even more inviting. Rude opened the door and allowed her to enter.

He put his sunglasses and keys on a small table and grinned and crouched down when with a happy meow, a white Persian cat ran to greet him and purred as it nuzzled his hand.

"Tifa, this is Buttons" he said as he petted the excited cat.

"Buttons?" she asked him, noticing how Buttons wore a blue jeweled cat collar and the white fluffy cat had large green eyes, he purred when Tifa pet him.

"I got him with an ex-girlfriend of mine and he was already named that and it stuck. He had a sister named Bows, she unfortunately got feline disease and had to be put down. My girlfriend and I broke up awhile ago and she took Buttons, but couldn't keep him because her new boyfriend's allergic to cats. So I took his fluffy ass in, so I'm stuck with the little freeloader" Rude explained but with affection in his voice.

"It was nice of you to take him in" Tifa said, thinking it cute how obviously he adored Buttons.

"I've raised him from kitten hood, this is his home" Rude said and this impressed Tifa how loyal he was to the animal. Rude was obviously secure in his masculinity that he would admit to having so girly a pet as a Persian cat and show his affection for it. "Oh no, I'm not picking you up until I get out of this monkey suit" he chided to Buttons as he tried to climb on him. "Sorry do you mind if I go change?" he asked her.

"Not at all" she said.

"Feel free to explore" he said walking upstairs.

Tifa did while he was gone as Buttons trotted silently after her.

The place was tastefully decorated in cherry wood tones and dark brown comfortable looking leather couches. The books on the shelves were about: home improvements, gardening and cookbooks and this intrigued her. Clearly there was more to Rude then met the eye.

There was a breakfast nook where he was growing fresh herbs on shelves in the kitchen and an island with copper pots suspended over top and a gas stovetop in the center of the island. The kitchen had high end appliances and the house's owner obviously liked to cook.

"I hope I wasn't too long" he said returning wearing a pair of causal combat pants and a fitted black t-shirt and Tifa blushed at how her eyes studied his muscular _physique_ , she hadn't realized quite how well built he was. That he bent and picked up his pet only drew attention to his powerful chest at the sweet scene of him cradling Buttons against it.

"You have a nice house" she said when he gave her a full tour of it.

"My mother always told me: you need to build a nest if you want to catch a bird. Just because I'm a bachelor doesn't mean I have to live like one. I'm hoping a sweet lady will join me here one day" he said spreading out his arms to indicate his place.

"She'll be a very lucky lady" Tifa said eyeing the well made and comfortable looking platform bed. "You have someone special in mind?" she asked him.

"Someone very special" he agreed and then seemed to blush. "I'm keeping you, let me show you where everything is for this critter" he said.

"I have time" she promised him.

"Would you care to join me for a glass of wine?" he asked her.

"Only if you tell me more about this mother of yours. Do you have any other family?" she asked him as he led her to the kitchen.

"Beside my mother, there's my father and younger brother and baby sister" he explained as he opened a very expensive bottle of wine he had bought years ago in hopes of sharing it with Tifa but had always been too shy to ask her to come over.

Rude wasn't normally shy with women. But felt like an awkward school boy around Tifa. He certainly could have picked and chosen amongst the women who scorned Reno's drunken antics and came over to flirt with his handsome and _silent_ seatmate. However, Rude didn't want just any woman, he wanted his life's companion and he thought that was Tifa.

That she was there was him excited him but he wouldn't act on it. Wooing would be for when he took her to dinner and attempting to impress her enough she would agree to future dates with him.

He was taking baby steps with their relationship but felt she would be worth it in the end.


	6. Playing to Lose

Rude was blushing as he looked at his cards while wearing just a leopard print thong while Tifa sat across from him fully dressed and wearing his own sunglasses while she arranged her cards in a practiced way. The rest of his uniform was on the table in front of them, along with her socks and boots. It was then that he knew he had been had by an experienced card sharp.

It was just his luck that he was wearing the thong that day that Reno had given him as a gag gift for his birthday one year. He had ignored it and couldn't be bothered to wear it as it wasn't something he would normally wear. He had only resorted to wearing it one day when he was completely out of clean underwear and had felt like he was a hen night stripper about to take off his clothes at their goading. But finding it comfortable enough, he had taken to wearing it when there was absolutely no clean underwear left.

He had randomly grabbed the first pair he put his hands on that morning in order to come over to keep an eye on Tifa when AVALANCHE was out of town. Cid Highwind, knowing of Rude's crush on Tifa and finding him the most likeable member of the TURKS would ask him to monitor her when they were away.

Tifa had opted to keep the bar closed that night and so he had had the privilege of having dinner with her. Then Tifa had asked him if he wanted to play poker with her.

He explained he didn't have any money with him and she had suggested they make the stakes something _much_ more interesting. He had been a blushing fool at what she had suggested and had tried to talk her out of it because he was a gentleman but she had been adamant about the stakes. She had them proceeded to cream his ass or _uncover_ it really, winning every hand until she sat across him with only her boots and socks removed, while he wore just his leopard print thong with small snaps located low on his hips for easy removal and what appeared to be a permanent blush.

"Do you call?" Tifa asked him with a smirk.

"Yes" he said looking nervously at his triple sixes, not caring for the religious connotations of that numbers and lay them down.

"I have a royal flush" she said with a smirk, "take 'em off" she said glaring in challenge into his golden eyes. He had beautiful eye she realized, large and expressive, she could see why he always wore sunglasses because of this. He was just a beautifully made man from head to toe.

Rude could feel himself turn even a darker red. "If you will cover your eyes" he requested.

"Sure" Tifa said enjoying herself as she examined the impressive body sitting across from her. She was cheating her ass off and had winning cards secreted under her shirt as they played. It wasn't that she wanted to embarrass him, she wanted to know what his conservative suit concealed as she had a bit of a crush on the silent man.

Tifa covered her eyes but peeked through her fingers as he unclipped his underwear and hurried removed them from himself. He placed them on the table and covered his groin with his hands, but not before Tifa had a glimpse of what he had to offer and thought the future Mrs. Rude would be a lucky, lucky lady.

"I'm done" he said in a feigned bored sounding voice.

Tifa uncovered her eyes and picked up his thong with two fingers, making his blush deepen if possible, "shall we continue playing?" she asked him.

"I don't have anything more for the pot" he reminded her, aware he was very bare before her.

Tifa pushed his shades onto her head and examined him from head to toe. "I'd settle for a kiss if you lose the next hand. We can decide on the next stakes after that" she sweetly suggested.

"Woman, you're on" he said and was suddenly playing to lose.


End file.
